Kyoto in One Day: Avanti & Nijo Castle — Guide Satoko

Title: What Is a Private One-Day Kyoto Tour of the Imperial Palace, Kinkaku-ji, and Nijo Castle Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The travel agency requested a tour of Kyoto's most iconic sites for a first-time visit to Kyoto, so as usual I planned a course covering Kyoto's history: the Imperial Palace, Kinkaku-ji, and Nijo Castle. As soon as we met, the guest said they wanted to buy comfortable walking shoes because they walk a lot. There happened to be a commercial building next to the Hotel that was likely to have a shoe shop, so we went there together to buy shoes. From there, we took the subway to the Kyoto Imperial Palace. Everything seemed novel to the guest, and they photographed many things. They also took photos of the university buildings and a historic residence across from the Kyoto Imperial Palace, finding them fascinating. Since the guest was that kind of person, I tried to explain the facilities while walking as much as possible. Just as we were about to enter the Kyoto Imperial Palace, we found it was closed to the public for a while due to preparations ahead of the Aoi Festival. (This is not an excuse, but I had checked the website in advance and found no such information posted. In fact, it is still not posted. So anyone considering visiting the Kyoto Imperial Palace during this period should be careful.) When I apologized to the guest, they were not concerned, saying they had been able to take lots of video. As an aside, the guest asked what the wall was made of, so I said "this?" and touched it, which set off an alarm and startled us greatly. The guest was surprised too, but later we both burst out laughing about it. Regaining our composure, as we came out of the Imadegawa Gate, the gate of Shokoku-ji came into the guest's view, and they liked it and took photos. It was the first time someone visiting the Kyoto Imperial Palace had photographed the gate of Shokoku-ji, so since our next destination was Kinkaku-ji, I explained the relationship between Kinkaku-ji and Shokoku-ji. Next, we took a bus to move to Kinkaku-ji. As I was explaining the conveyor-belt sushi restaurants visible from the window, after getting off at the Kinkakuji-michi bus stop, the guest said, "Talking about sushi made me want to eat sushi," so we went back to a sushi restaurant and had lunch. When their order arrived, they happily photographed the sushi. During the meal they sent the photos to a relative, and they were pleased that the relative said they were getting hungry. Next, we moved to Kinkaku-ji. The guest listened to my explanation of Kinkaku-ji with great interest. Kinkaku-ji was more crowded than ever before. People were lined up from the slope starting at the Jizo statue all the way to the Sekkatei tea house, and the guest was amazed. After leaving Kinkaku-ji, seeing someone eating matcha ice cream, the guest said they wanted to try it too and bought some matcha ice cream. I thought about finding a place to sit, but the guest said they were fine eating while walking, so we had them eat as we walked. I noticed matcha powder had gotten on their clothes, so I handed them a moist towel I had on hand and wiped it a little, and they laughed, saying they were "like a child." Then we moved to Nijo Castle. The guest listened to the explanations with interest. When I asked if they would like to see the garden, they said they had seen plenty and wanted to head back. Since it was much earlier than the scheduled time, I offered to guide them to Higashi Hongan-ji near Kyoto Station on the way and see them back to the Hotel. (At the start of the tour, when I had asked whether they wanted to be taken back to the Hotel afterward, they had seemed to want that if possible.) They said, "If it's fine with your time, please do that," so we set off on the return journey. Along the way, the guest said they wanted to buy a kimono as a souvenir for a family member, so I remembered there was a kimono shop in the commercial building and decided to stop by on the way. Unfortunately, they did not carry children's kimono, so since there was a department store nearby, I told them how to get there and said goodbye. It was a tour full of laughter, and I enjoyed it as well.

Click here for more details: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide

Tour Report by Satoko

I am a 53-year-old woman, living in Kyoto for nearly 40 years. I got the license in 2001. Since then, I worked as an interpreter or a translator in several companies, secretary at universities, and now work for a company on weekdays at the international dept.I do guiding job only weekend now. I started full swing guiding career after COVID-19 pandemic. I have gotten good review from many of my guests. I love my hometown, Kyoto which has a lot of interesting and historical sites to see. Particularly, I am native to Arashiyama which is famous for bamboo forest. So, I know a lot of places where you can relax yourself around this area. Other than that, Kyoto has many attractive sites which surely interest you.Also, I like meeting many people from different cultural background. I am very happy if I learn about your culture as well. Let’s enjoy exploring around Kyoto!